"We've got to fulfill the book"... these lyrics from "Redemption Song" are some of the last that Bob Marley wrote before he left our world entirely too soon on May 11, 1981.  Bob last sang those words at the Stanley Theater in Pittsburg, PA on September 23, 1980. Since then many authors and publishers have been trying to fulfill that book. During Bob Marley's life on earth, just a handful of books were published about him. Since his passing however, that number has increased to over 200 worldwide. That amount reaches over 300 if you include works that feature Bob on the cover, but are not exclusively devoted to him.

Not a year has gone by since 1981 that a book or several books have not been published on the reggae legend. In the last four years alone there has been over 60 manuscripts published worldwide. It is easy to ask what more could possibly be written about him, but as Bob himself declared, "there is so much things to say" and "half of the story has never been told." In fact, March of 2008 saw the release of "Wailing Blues: The Story Behind Bob Marley's Wailers" by John Masouri. The story reveals the truth behind the Marley legacy and I believe it will stand the test of time as being one of the best biographies published on Bob and The Wailers. 

There have also been rumors of books that have yet to be published, such as a memoir by Mortimer Planno and Allan "Skill" Cole, as well as the much longed for biography on Bunny Wailer by Roger Steffens and Leroy Jodie Pierson. Bunny, an original member of the Wailers, has put that book on hold but interviews conducted for it helped give birth to a bible of sorts for Marley collectors and fans alike. Bunny's recollections of recording sessions,  players of instruments and dates of releases were central to Roger and Leroy's great 2005 work, "Bob Marley & The Wailers: The Definitive Discography." Unfortunately, there have been few books published that are dedicated to the lives of the other iconic Wailers, Bunny, or the "stepping razor," Peter Tosh. 

The majority of books on Bob Marley are written in the English language and published in the U.S. or UK but there are also many unique to their originating countries, such as Germany, Spain, Japan, France and Italy. Some books, such as Stephen Davis's "Bob Marley" or Timothy White's "Catch a Fire" have been translated into several languages. This article does not focus on the non-English books published on Bob. That group deserves an article all its own.

With so many books published over the years, one would be correct in assuming that not all are noteworthy.  Most of these offerings merely provide a brief overview of Bob's life and/or rehashed photos that are no longer of interest to die hard Marley fans. But there are several significant manuscripts that should be found on  the bookshelf of every Marley fan. I hope this article will serve as a tool to guide enthusiast through the deluge of essential Marley books that have been published in the U.S. and UK as well as a few from other countries. For a more complete list of books visit the forum section at http://www.bobmarleymagazine.com/. In my opinion, Marley books can be divided into six categories: biographies, discographies, photography, illustration, category unto their own, and songs.

BIOGRAPHIES:

Over the years, there have been more biographies published on Bob than any of the aforementioned categories. Some of them can be cherished for their telling of the tale in precise and compelling detail, while others can be passed over as they offer no new information to the Marley zealot or even worse contain inaccurate information.

One of the first biographies published on Bob was "Bob Marley Music Myth & The Rastas," Carib-Arawak Publishing Ltd UK 1976 by Henderson Dalrymple.  In fact, this may be the first bio ever published on Bob. Although this book, like several others in this time frame, was published without an ISBN # (a ten digit number that uniquely identifies books published internationally), it is a forward thinking book and one that has withstood the test of time.  A German edition was published in 1977 by Trikont Verlag.

One of the first books published by a major publishing house with a ISBN # is "Bob  Marley The Roots of Reggae" by Cathy McKnight and John Tobler, Star Publishing UK 1977.  The authors offer the reader a brief bio and descent music guide.

The early 1980s saw the release of several biographies including "No Woman No Cry The Life of Bob Marley," Dr.G.K. Osei, The African Publication Society UK 1981 ; "Bob Marley Lives: Rasta, Reggae and Resistance," Horace Campbell, Tackey, 1981 & 1982; "The Development of Jamaican Popular Music with Special Reference to the Music of Bob Marley," Garth White, African-Caribbean Institute of Jamaica JA, 1982; "Bob Marley: Rasta Vision of a New World," Sebastian Clark, Book Society of Canada CA 1983.

"Bob Marley," Arthur Baker Limited UK 1983, written by Stephen Davis has long been held as the best biography of Bob and for good reason. It provides the reader an accurate, gripping and authoritative account of his life. It has had several English editions as well as many in other languages. The first U.S. edition was published by Doubleday Dolphin in 1985 and was followed by a revised edition by Shenkman Books U.S. in 1990. The most recent edition changed the title to "Bob Marley Conquering Lion of Reggae," and was published in 1993 by Plexus UK. 

 "Catch a Fire: The Life of Bob Marley," Holt Rinehart Winston Publishing U.S. 1983, authored by Timothy White, is the biggest selling and most revised of all the biographies. It's had numerous hard and soft cover editions published in the U.S. & UK.  Although both "Catch a Fire"and "Bob Marley" are regarded as essential, this biography differs greatly from that of Davis. "Catch A Fire," at times seems a little more fictional than factual yet still gives the reader an abundance of rich information to absorb.  The last edition of "Catch a Fire" was published in 2006 after the death of Tim White in 2002 and has additional text by Judy Garlan. Some other editions are: Elm Tree Books UK 1983; Owl Books UK 1983; Corgi UK 1984; Henry Holt U.S. 1989; Omnibus Press UK 1991; Henry Holt U.S. 1991; Henry Holt U.S. 1992; Henry Holt U.S. 1994; Henry Holt U.S. 1996; Henry Holt U.S. 1998; Henry Holt U.S. 2000; Hannibal Verlag GmbH Germany 2000; Henry Holt U.S. 2006.

"Bob Marley Reggae King Of The World," Kingston Publishers JA 1984 written by Malika Whitney & Dermott Hussey, is a beautiful book that was put together by Jamaicans in an effort to tell the world of their great saint. It includes many photographs and a quick bio, as well as transcripts of interviews with not only Bob but many others who were close to him. Special features of the book include a map detailing the routes of Bob's tours and several pages of newspaper clippings. A reprint was done in 1994 by Pomegranate Artbooks U.S..

 1985 saw the release of one of the first Bob biographies written for children, "The Bob Marley Story," Hutchinson UK 1985 was authored by Madeline Sotheby. Since then several more have been published including:  "Bob Marley Profile," Chris May, Hamish Hamilton UK 1985 & 1987;; "Bob Marley (Rock Biographies)," Karen Beggs & Peter Beynon, Newmat UK 1988; "Bob Marley," Margaret E. Ward, Longmeadow Press U.S. 1993; "Bob Marley The World's Greatest Composers," Marsha Bronson, Exley Publications Ltd UK 1993; "Bob Marley Black Americans of Achievement,"  Sean Dolan, Chelsea House Publishers U.S. 1997; "Bob Marley Modern Icons," Scotty Bennett, Virgin Publishing Ltd UK & St.Martin's Press U.S. 1997; "Bob Marley Black Americans of Achievement Legacy Edition," Sherri Paprocki, Chelsea House Publishers U.S. 2006; "Reggae Poet:  the story of Bob Marley," Calvin Craig Miller, Morgan Reynolds Publishing U.S. 2008;  "Bob Marley and the Wailers Popular Rock Superstars of Yesterday and Today," Rosa Waters, Mason Crest Publishers U.S. 2008.

1991 brought us one of most fascinating and unique books on Bob, "Joseph A Rasta Reggae Fable," Jamaica Media Productions JA 1991 by Barbara Makeda Blake Hannah. As the title suggests, this is not a factual biography of Bob Marley.  It is instead, a fable of Joseph, a great reggae musician from Jamaica, who reaches worldwide success and then disappears into the African horizon. For years it was difficult to obtain a copy, but thankfully in 2006, a beautiful new edition was published by Macmillan Education UK.

"Marley The Illustrated Legend 1945-1981," Hamlyn UK 1994 written by Barry Lazell, is an interesting book because of the rare photos it contains. One of these depicts some Rasta giving thanks and praises inside Bob's mausoleum in Nine Miles, Jamaica. Photos are not allowed inside of the mausoleum so this is a rare glimpse for those who have not been there. There is also a heart wrenching  never seen before (to these eyes) photo of Bob in Bad Wiessee, Germany at the Sunshine House while at the Josef Issels cancer clinic. I have seen several photos from Germany and it is always so difficult to see the Gong in this state of illness.

With the success of cds, came the cd sized book. There have been several in this genre published over the years including: "Bob Marley," Chris Welch, Carlton U.S. 1994 & 1996. Small pocket books also became popular around the same time.  Some examples are "Bob Marley They Died Too Young," Millie Gilfoyle, Parragon Books UK 1995 & Chelsea House U.S. 1999, "Bob Marley Island Prophet," Mitchell Uscher, Andrews McMeel Publishing U.S. 1999.

At the other end of the size spectrum is "Bob Marley: Songs of Freedom," Viking Penguin U.S. 1995, a coffee table book by Adrian Boot and Chris Salewicz. This great book is essential to any Marley library. It contains some fantastic photos and text and is elegantly packaged. There was a second soft cover edition published in 1998 by Penguin Studio U.S..

Through four different editions we get the story of Bob Marley as told by his one time manager Don Taylor. The first, "So Much Things To Say, My Life As Bob Marley's Manager," Blake Publishing UK 1995 written by Don Taylor with Mike Henry has been the most controversial to date because of the claims made by Taylor. Adding fuel to the flame, is the fact that Don was fired by Bob for stealing his money.  This book does help complete the picture but is best to be taken with a grain of salt. The other three editions are "Marley & Me," Don Taylor with Mike Henry, Barricade Books U.S. 1995; "Marley & Me, The Real Bob Marley Story as told to Mike Henry," LMH Publishing JA 2001; "Guns & Ganja The Secret Life of Bob Marley," Don Taylor with Mike Henry, John Blake Publishing UK 2003.

Another important read is "Bob Marley an intimate portrait by his mother," Viking UK 1996 by Cedella Booker with Anthony Winkler. Mother B is one of the few who has the ability to shed light on a young Nesta and also recall the agonizing final days of Bob in Germany. There was a second edition published in 1997 by Penguin UK and a new version titled "Bob Marley, my son." Cedella Marley Booker with Anthony Winkler, was published by Taylor Trade Publishing U.S. in 2003. Other editions: Modan Publishing House Israel 2001.

A must have book for the text as well as the photos is "One Love Life with Bob Marley and The Wailers, words and photographs by Lee Jaffe and introduction and interviews by Roger Steffens," W.W. Norton UK & U.S. 2003. In 1973 Lee Jaffe befriended Bob Marley in NYC and moved with him to Jamaica to live at 56 Hope Road. He tells some fascinating stories about traveling around Yard with Bob and how Bob composed certain songs. The majority of the text is of candid interviews Lee gave to Steffens.  

"Bob Marley & Peter Tosh Get Up! Stand Up! Diary of a Reggaeophile," Case International U.S. 2002, is a great book by Fikisha Cumbo. Fikish is a terrific lady who had the pleasure of befriending both Bob Marley and Peter Tosh. In her book, she transcribes some of her interviews with both Bob and Peter and in addition shares with us many of her never before seen photos of both legends. Cumbo has put together a sincere, succinct book, done from the heart.

"Every Little Thing Gonna Be Alright: The Bob Marley Reader," Da Capo Press U.S. 2004 by  Hank Bordowitz, is an interesting book that compiles articles and stories several authors had written over the years.

"No Woman No Cry: My Life With Bob Marley," Hyperion U.S. 2004 was written by Rita Marley with Hettie Jones. Even though the book only contains 209 pages, it is an essential read because it gives you yet another side of Bob told by the only person who can offer this fascinating point of view, his wife.  Rita tells of the early days in Trench Town and her life as Bob's wife, care giver, back up singer, mother to his children and much more. Other editions: Sidgwick & Jackson UK 2004, Pan Books 2005, Ediciones, Spain 2004.

It should be noted however, that the books by Taylor, Mrs. Booker and Rita contain little or no information about Bob's musical life.

Another indispensible book is "The Book of Exodus: The Making and Meaning of Bob Marley and The Wailers Album of the Century," Three Rivers Press U.S. 2006 by Vivian Goldman. Vivian, a journalist and reggae historian, gives us a firsthand account of Bob in London during the making of "Exodus." She takes the reader inside the studio with The Wailers and gives you a front row seat on the tour bus. This book fills in the detail of another part of Bob's amazing journey, fleeing Jamaica after being shot. Reading this book will help immensely in understanding this period in his life.   

"Before The Legend: The Rise of Bob Marley," Amastad U.S. 2006 & 2007 by Christopher John Farley takes the reader back to the early days of Bob when he was just a Wailing Wailer in the streets of Trench Town before the bright lights of the world's stage.

"Marley Legend: An Illustrated Life of Bob Marley," Chronicle Books/ Tuff Gong Books U.S. 2006 by James Henke is basically a scrapbook, filled with fascinating reproductions of newspaper articles, tour programs etc. The text is nothing beyond the basic facts of his life, combined with some nice photos.

With 2007 being the 30^th anniversary of Time Magazine's Best Album of the 20^th Century "Exodus," the Marley Estate re-released the album remastered on cd and vinyl as well as on a first of its kind USB card and a Micro SD. They also released a fine book called "Bob Marley & The Wailers Exodus  Exile 1977 30^th Anniversary," Weidenfeld & Nicolson/Orion Publishing Group UK 2007 by Richard Williams.

University of South Dakota Professor, David Moscowitz,  was picked to author two books on Brother Bob and in 2007, both were published. The first was "The Words and Music of Bob Marley" (Praeger Singer-Songwriter Collection), Preager publishers U.S. 2007 and the second "Bob Marley A Biography," Greenwood Press U.S. 2007. The first gives the story of Bob while using his songs as discussion points. The second book provides a quick concise bio of Bob.

"Bob Marley: Herald of a Postcolonial World?," Polity Press UK 2007 by Jason Toynbee takes an academic look at Bob, his career and his lasting impact on society. Not a bad read as it provides a little different approach to the subject.

From the "Bob Marley" Caribbean Lives series, Signal Books Limited UK 2008 by Gary Steckles,  comes "Bob Marley A Life," Interlink Books U.S. 2008. With identical text, both are well written extremely concise biographies that would give a new Marley fan a very quick overview of the man. In particular, Steckles dissects the many Marley Estate legal issues in an easy to understand manner.

Last but definitely not least, 2008 brought the release of a book that will no doubt be placed at the top of the Marley biography list, "Wailing Blues The Story of Bob Marley's Wailers," Omnibus Press UK 2008 by John Masouri. This is the story of Bob's Wailers and in particular Aston "Family Man" Barrett, Bob Marley's bass mon and musical arranger. We hear the story of  the upbringing and start in the music business of Fams and his brother, Wailers' drummer Carly. Fams' provides detailed accounts of creating songs, studio time, tours and insight into life as the Wailers' band leader. The book also gives some sad details about Family Man's failed court case against the Marley Estate and Island Records. The reader can only be left hoping that Fams continues the struggle to spread Bob's message and that JAH will provide. This is an instant classic and must-own book.

DISCOGRAPHIES:

Although many books claim to be a discography, it is worth  noting that a true discography is more than just a list of records, their labels and date of release. A true discography  must answer the following questions; artist who sang, the musicians who played and their instruments, the name on the label, the label numbers, country of release, the producer, the engineer, the number of tracks on the master tape, the studio and the matrix number in the wax of the record. The only true discography, conforming to those academic requirements for such a document is the "Definitive Discography," the rest of the books in this list should be classified as album or song guides.

"Bob Marley The Illustrated Disco/Biography," Omnibus UK 1985 by Observer Station, is one of the early books cataloging Marley's work.

"The Complete Guide to the music of Bob Marley," Omnibus UK 1994 by Ian McCann is a cd sized book that came packaged with an interview cd. This book was  useful at the time to get a grasp of the major works released from the Studio One albums through the "Songs of Freedom" boxset.

1999 brought us "Bob Marley: Soul Rebel, The Stories Behind Every Song 1962-1981," Da Capo Press U.S. 1999 by Maureen Sheridan. Contrary to the name, this is far from being the story behind every song and is riddled with factual errors.

"Bob Marley: Songs Of African Redemption," Malthouse Press Nigeria 2000, by Adebayo Ojo is not a true discography per se, but does provide an Afro-centric look at many of Bob'songs.

"Metaphysical Interpretation of Bob Marley's Exodus," Conquering Books U.S. 2002 by Issachar Ye Amlak provides an interesting look at the songs of "Exodus."

Published in 2002, "Lyrical Genius," Sanctuary Publishing UK by Kwame Dawes  is a very insightful read that helps explain the meaning to some of Bob's lyrics and songs. Dawes helps to translate many of Bob's "Jamaican" lyrics as well as set the context in which they were written. This book saw a new edition published by Bobcat Books UK in 2007.

Ian McCann keeps his guides going with the 2004 release of "Bob Marley the Complete Guide to his Music," Omnibus Press UK. This book was done in conjunction with veteran Marley author Harry Hawke. It is very similar to McCann's 1994 guide.

"Bob Marley and The Wailers: The Definitive Discography (Full details on every recording by Peter Tosh, Bunny Wailer & Bob Marley)," authored by Roger Steffens & Leroy Jodie Pierson, was published by Rounder Books U.S. in 2005.  After many years of research and countless hours interviewing Bunny Wailer, the pair was able to compile a detailed account of every song Bob, Peter and Bunny recorded. The book includes all that is required of a discography as well as numerous photos of albums and a beautiful color section of singles. This is an invaluable book that will be treasured for years to come. It is not just designed for the die hard Marley fan, a casual reader will enjoy this book as much as a veteran vinyl collector. The book also had a ‘Collectors Edition' Jamaican printing by LMH Publishers JA 2005. This is easily one of the best books on Bob and happens to be the only true discography to date for any Jamaican artist.

Although "Bob Marley His Musical Legacy," Cassell Illustrated UK 2005 by Jeremy Collingwood hit the store shelves just before the "Definitive Discography," it offers the reader a different look at the Marley catalogue. This book can be enjoyed for the fantastic memorabilia photos and musical timeline. It has been released in several languages as well as a second soft cover edition by Cassell Illustrated UK in 2006.

PHOTOGRAPHY BOOKS:

It has been said that Bob at one time was the most photographed person on earth. Millions of the photos taken of him have been compiled in fabulous photography books. The images in these books are a delight for any reader.

"Bob Marley Soul Rebel-Natural Mystic," Eel Pie Publishing 1981 UK by Adrian Boot and Vivian Goldman was published at the beginning of the Marley book phenomenon. It is packed with some fantastic photos by Boot, many of which have become classics as well as a quick intro and printed interview Viv had with Bob. With some rare memorabilia photos, this book is as great to flip through now as it was in 1981. The book was included in "Bob Marley and the Wailers: The Box Set", a limited edition box set of Bob's 9 Island LP's.

Dennis Morris took some fabulous photos of Bob and published many of them in "Rebel With A Cause: a Photographic Record of the Visions and the Message of the King of Reggae from Natty Dread to Exodus," Epoch Productions UK,1986 and  D.M.M.P. UK 1991.  Dennis met up with Bob when he was a young man in England. Bob soon offered an invitation to Dennis to accompany him on tour dates and snap many candid photos. The second edition of this book was offered as a bonus to the Trojan 4 cd box set "Bob Marley and the Wailers: The Early Years 1969-1973."  Dennis also released another version of the book titled "Bob Marley: a rebel life," by Plexus Publishing UK 1999 and 2003. In 2006, a Japanese book of Dennis's photos called "Bob Marley Icon," Excite Japan was released in a cardboard box along with a t-shirt and other memorabilia. The book was published in conjunction with a photo exhibit Dennis had in Japan at the Tokyo Hipsters Club.

Bruce Talamon captured some fabulous photos of Bob during his lifetime and many of them are shown for the first time in "Bob Marley Spirit Dancer," W.W. Norton U.S. 1994. As an added bonus Roger Steffens traces the history of Bob from beginning to end and his text adds detailed perspective to the photos. The book saw a hard and soft cover release and a cd size edition by W.W. Norton U.S. in 2003.

Books such as "Bob Marley A Book of Postcards," Pomegranate U.S. 1996 and the "Bob Marley Tear Out Photo book," Oliver Books UK 1997, can be of interest to some but don't offer anything revolutionary in the way of photography.

Bob's resident artist, Neville Garrick released a beautiful photo book, "A Rasta's Pilgrimage: Ethiopian Faces and Places," Pomegranate U.S. 1998. Although the book does not feature photos of the Wailers, Neville's integral role in Marley's inner circle merits his books' placement in this review.  Garrick's book does provide a stunning photo journey through Ethiopia.

"Color Reggae," L'ippocampo Italy 2001 by Bruno Blum is a very different but thoroughly enjoyable photo book. It contains some text in Italian by the very knowledgeable Blum as well as large glossy loose photos of Bob and other Jamaican scenes. The artful cover shows Bob on the opposite side of a rain soaked window.

"Rebel Music Bob Marley & Roots Reggae," Genesis Publications UK  by Kate Simon was published in 2004. It is hard to say if this release should be classified as a book or as a tremendous work of art. In reality it's a little of both. Published in a very limited run of 2000 copies, the book was housed in two different packages. The first 350 Deluxe copies were bound in full leather, housed in a wooden box with hinges and signed by Eric Clapton & Kate Simon. The regular edition has a leather bound spine and is housed in a wooden slipcase box.  All of these are numbered and signed by the author.  For years there have been rumors that a more affordable soft cover version of this book will be published and on behalf of Marley fans worldwide, I hope that comes true.  The book contains many of Simon's shots of Bob as well as text by many of those involved in the Marley legacy.

A new photo book on the horizon is "Journey to Jamaica: An Intimate Portrait of Bob Marley," Insight Editions by David Burnett (author/photographer).  The projected release date is the summer of 2009.

ILLUSTRATION:

One great thing about Bob is that his message and music can be enjoyed by people of all ages and backgrounds.  As a result many illustrated books have been published.

This genre began in 1994 with the Marvel Music comic book series. Bob was chosen to have a series of three comic books that would tell the story of his life in comic book illustration style. Unfortunately the company went bankrupt before the third installment could be published. The titles are "Iron," "Lion" and "Zion." "Iron," was released in 1994 and "Lion" in 1995.  Each give an idea of what" Zion" would have looked like.  Both books feature text by Charles E. Hall and incredible illustrations by Gene Colan & Tennyson Smith. There have been rumors for the past few years that all three parts would be combined into one book and released. Let's hope that is true. 

A series of delightful French books by Roland Monpierre are entertaining, even for non-French speakers.  "Reggae Rebel la vie d Bob Marley," and "La Legend De Bob Marley," was published in 2000 by Source Publishing FR. These were followed by the release of "Bob Marley," Eise Music FR 2001; "La Legend des Wailers," Sefam FR 2006 and "La Legend Du Lion," Vent Des Savanes 2008. These books contain artistic drawings of Bob and his fellow Wailers and tell the story of Bob's life in a comic book fashion.

Cedella Marley, one of Bob's daughters, has written a couple of children's books with Gerald Hausman for the young Marley fans. The first is "The Boy From Nine Miles: The Early Life of Bob Marley," Hampton Roads Publishing U.S. 2002. It tells the story of a young Bob growing up in the hills of Jamaica who goes to the city as a palm reader and comes back to the hills a singer. Geared towards children, it provides an excellent introduction to this mythic figure and is filled with beautiful illustrations by Mariah Fox.

Cedella's second illustration book is called "Three Little Birds," Tuff Gong Books U.S. 2006. Again with Gerald Hausman and Mariah Fox, this 14 page book reminds children that no matter what, "don't worry about a thing, cause every little thing is gonna be alright." Let's hope that Cedella continues to publish children's books.

"Bob Marley: The Life of a Musical Legend" (Graphic Biographies), Rosen Central U.S. & Franklin Watts UK 2007 by Garry Jeffrey author & Terry Riley illustrator is another  story of Bob told in comic book style. The illustrations by Terry Riley are especially nice.

CATEGORY UNTO THEIR OWN BOOKS:

Some of the books published over the years don't fit into any one specific category but deserve a place in any complete Marley collection. Most of these releases range from quote books to memorabilia or album art books.

"Bob Marley In His Own Words," Omnibus Press UK 1993 by Ian McCann is a nice book that breaks down many quotes from Bob into different categories and gives the reader a quick summary on what Bob thought about different topics. The topics range from Reggae to Illness and are really quite fascinating to read. The book was initially published with two different covers, one white and one blue, each having different photos of Bob. A new edition was published in 2003 by Omnibus and the title was changed to "Talking." Other editions: kendi sozleriyle, AFA Yayinlari A.S. Turkey 1995; In Eigenen Worten, Palmyra Verlag Germany 2000.

"56 Thoughts From 56 Hope Road: The Sayings and Psalms of Bob Marley," Tuff Gong Books. U.S. 2002 by Cedella Marley with Gerald Hausman is a nice small book of 56 quotes and excerpts from song lyrics.

"60 Visions: A Book of Prophesy by Bob Marley," Tuff Gong Books U.S. 2004, is a book produced by Bob's daughter Cedella to mark Bobs' 60^th birthday. It is an intriguing book containing some of his greatest thoughts. Quotes from interviews are mixed in with different pictures of Bob to form a nice philosophical book that can assist one on the path of life.

"The World of Reggae Featuring Bob Marley: Treasures from Roger Steffens' Reggae Archives," Global Treasures U.S., was published in conjunction with Roger's reggae exhibit at the Queen Mary in Long Beach, CA in 2001. It is stuffed full of pictures of album covers, most of them signed by the artist as well as a treasure trove of Marley memorabilia including posters, buttons, stamps, books, magazines etc. Although not devoted only to Bob, his section will please any fan. This book will provide endless hours of enjoyment.

"Bob Marley: The Man and His Music," Arawak Publications JA 2003 by Eleanor Wint & Carolyn Cooper, is a collection of essays that came out of the 1995 symposium held in Jamaica to celebrate Marley's 50^th  birthday.

"Roger Steffens & Peter Simon's Reggae Scrapbook," Insight Editions U.S. 2007, is a fantastic visual treat with photos, stories and memorabilia reproductions from the world of reggae, including dozens of removable items and an hour long interview DVD with artists including The Wailers Band telling their favorite Marley recordings.

SONGBOOKS:

It seems like there is an endless supply of Marley songbooks. Although most of them rehash the same songs, some are of interest to guitarist's and Marley fans alike including;

"Rastaman Vibration,"  Heather Harris & Kim Gottlieb, Alamo Publications U.S. 1976.

What makes this early Marley music book great is the addition of the author's interesting text and vivid photos.

"Bob Marley Songbook," Alamo Publications U.S. 1981. This fine music book features the inclusion of many classic songs. The sheet music is preceded by several nice photos of Bob by assorted photographers.

"Bob Marley Complete Chord Songbook," Wise Publications UK 2005. This compact book for guitarists includes 124 songs with chords and lyrics.

A couple of books on the horizon are "Bob Marley-Music Icons," by Dafydd Rees, published by Taschen and a new illustrated childrens book, "I & I Bob Marley," by Tony Medina with illustrations by Jesse Joshua Watson which will be published by Lee & Low.

 I am currently compiling a complete Marley bibliography and would love to hear from you.  If you have corrections or know of any book not listed in this article or at http://www.bobmarleymagazine.com/, please email me at joskiejoe@hotmail.com.

Cool Runnings, happy reading and One Love.